Master\u27s Project: Identifying the Variation in Perceptions to Waste and Waste Management Behaviours in Albouystown (Georgetown, Guyana)

Albouystown is a community in Georgetown (Guyana) where the issue of improper waste disposal is so significant that the community oftentimes experiences excessive flooding due to drain networks being clogged with garbage from continuous littering by residents. This project explored how perceptions of and attitudes towards waste management in Albouystown have been shaped by and are rooted in structures, ideologies, dynamics and histories which are unique to the community. The project explored the benefits of promoting dialogue to investigate an existing community issue. Through this process, it became clear that systems of racial oppression and political marginalisation have negatively affected solid waste management systems and wider development in Albouystown. These community conversations have also helped to support the community in acting to overcome these challenges with a desired outcome of empowerment and sustainability for Albouystown

Demonstrating the Process of Doing Applied Research: The Missoula Senior Nutrition Program User Profile

The process of researching, constructing, administering, compiling and reporting the results of a 41 item questionnaire assessing the social, medical and economic characteristics of the program\u27s current participants is examined. Organizational, political and methodological issues of program definition, client identification, questionnaire cooptation and results presentation are specifically addressed. The client profile and needs assessment was funded by the District XI Human Resource Council was to assess the social, medical and economic status of the current Missoula Senior Nutrition Program participants. Individuals who were recorded as clients of either the congregate mealsite or home delivered meals program during the period of June 10 through June 24, 1985 became the potential pool of interviewees for this survey. Of the 129 clients identified during this timeframe, 100 (77.550 participated in the study. Congregate mealsite participants completed self administered questionnaires. For those clients who were physically unable to complete the survey questionnaire, the questions and responses were read to them and their answers were recorded by the mealsite coordinator or the author. Home delivered meal clients were interviewed by telephone by the nutrition program coordinator. Profile results indicated two distinct groups of seniors having differences in three areas: personal and social mobility patterns; chronic or serious health issues; and age. The results support the continuation of two service delivery programs addressing the differing needs of user groups. The second issue, the ability of the clients to assist in the financial support of the Missoula Senior Nutrition Program through financial contributions, was explored. Seniors in both programs indicated that a donation should be made for the meal, but it should be based oh an individual\u27s ability to pay. Fifty eight percent of the mealsite participants and 52X of the home delivered meal participants indicated an annual income which placed them below the State poverty level guidelines (income of less than $5250). The challenges of doing research in the applied setting are considered

Gender and Teleworking Identities: Reconstructing the Research Agenda

This paper seeks to examine from an employee perspective, the promises made on behalf of telework as a new work practice. We are especially concerned with the relationship between gender and telework in relation to home work boundaries, since gender roles in society are largely shaped by home and family. Drawing on management and organisation studies, in the first half of the paper we develop a critique of proposed advantages for women home workers by deconstructing the set of benefits which are said to be delivered by this new socio-technological ensemble. Having once outlined the problems to which teleworking is posed as the solution, an alternative set of issues are generated by recourse to existing literature on women and information technology. In the second part of the paper, we then move to construct an alternative research agenda which is focused to provide a more thorough-going review of concerns faced by employee’s working at home, using information and communication technologies, and at a distance from the host organization. The re-orientation on employee-centred priorities is enhanced by engaging with current writings on the changing nature of work identities in the risk society. In conclusion, we underline the contribution of this paper and the research agenda for IS research and for those agencies engaged in ameliorating employees rights at work

Flexibility and Gender in the eSociety: Marxist Theory Applied to At Home Telework

Our understanding of the e-society should incorporate the case of at-home teleworking because of its implications for the use of ubiquitous ICTs in the home environment, work relations and gender issues. Rhetoric surrounding the benefits of telework impinge on promises of increased freedom, reduced burden, and ‘flexibility’ from an employees perspective. In order to establish the validity of such claims it is important to examine how at-home telework entails a reconfiguration of the home-work boundary. The substantial impacts on women’s role in the family such a renegotiation produces has implications for gender issues if we identify the oppression of women as located in the function they perform within the privatized family unit. By presenting a Marxist-inspired analysis of the family, explaining what constitutes women’s oppression, how this relates to work outside the home, and what a vision of emancipation entails, we develop a critique of proposed advantages for women home workers. Not only do we question tele-working’s ability to deliver on the promises made on its behalf; we show how this sociotechnical innovation may in fact represent a regressive step. In conclusion, we underline the contribution of this paper to research on the societal concerns as an intersection of the working sphere and family life that are brought together by ICTs

Seeing red: Relearning to read in a case of Balint's Syndrome

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Balint's Syndrome is a rare condition, often associated with hypoxic brain damage. The major characteristic is an inability to localise objects in space, another is simultanagnosia frequently resulting in reading difficulties. We present RN, a 37 year old woman whose major problem with reading was her inability to recognise individual letters correctly in either lower or upper case. We noted, however, that she was better if the letters were shown in red type. The aims were to determine if RN could relearn letters of the alphabet, investigate whether colour affected her ability to learn, and to explore more specifically whether the red type also helped her to read words. METHOD: Using a single case experimental ABA design, we first determined that the optimal font for RN was size 16. In the baseline (A) phase, we assessed her ability to read all lower and upper case letters of the alphabet in black ink. In the intervention (B) phase we used font size 16 in red ink and an errorless learning approach to teaching the letters. Sessions ran 5 times per week (20 minutes per session). The intervention was then applied to picture recognition and word reading with four sets of 10 words and corresponding pictures. RESULTS: A consistent difference was noted between initial baseline and intervention. Improvement carried over when we returned to baseline. CONCLUSION: Using red type and an errorless learning approach enabled RN to re-learn letters of the alphabet and read words she was previously unable to read. This did not however generalise to her everyday life

Effects of Water Quality on Physico-chemical and Organoleptic Characteristics of selected Canned Fruits and Vegetables

The effect of processing water quality, specifically calcium and magnesium salt content (0-500 mg/1) and the addition of chelating agents (0- 250 mg/ 1 of aminopolycarboxylic acids, polyphosphates, hydroxycarboxylic acids or phytates), upon physico-chemical and organoleptic characteristics of canned Jonathan and Delicious apple slices, Montmorency cherries and Blue Lake green beans was investigated. Physical determinations: shear values, turbidity of syrup or brine measured via light transmittance, Hunter color and color difference meter readings and internal can corrosion; chemical composition: pectin as calcium pectate, volatile reducing substances, total acidity, pigment determinations, nitrate-nitrogen values; and sensory measurements: texture, shape, flavor, aroma, color value and uniformity of product and color value and turbidity of product brine or syrup were ascertained. Analyses of variance, Duncan\u27s multiple mean comparison range tests and correlation or coefficients were calculated when appropriate. Use of hard water (300 mg/1) as a processing medium for canned apple slices and sour cherries decreased color and flavor acceptability but increased firmness and shear values. Excessive hardness toughened cherry epidermis making texture undesirable. Addition of 250 mg/1 CaNa2EDTA to Delicious apple slices canned in water containing 300 mg/1 salts improved color and flavor while firmness was retained. Delicious apple slices were firmer, and higher shear, nitrate-nitrogen and aroma scores and caused less detinning than Jonathan samples in all storage groups. As corrosion increased, nitrate-nitrogen, shear, firmness, flavor, aroma, and pigment values decreased. Color acceptability, reflectance, flavor and volatile reducing substance were higher and redness lower for Jonathan apple slices than Delicious samples stored at 35 and 75 F for 1 and 3 months, respectively, but not necessarily for samples stored at 100 F for 4 months. EDTA was ineffective in maintaining or improving Jonathan apple or Montmorency cherry quality, probably due ot the acidity of these cultivars. Apple and cherry quality decreased as storage temperature and duration increased from 35, 75 to 100 F for 1, 3 and 4 or 5 months, respectively, for all samples except Delicious apple slices with CaNa2EDTA. EDTA did provide most color protection in sour cherries, and citric acid, best flavor and aroma scores, while commercial and tap water processed sour cherries showed most deterioration, but none were of acceptable commercial quality after 5 month storage at 100 F. When comparing 1 month storage at 35 F with 3 months at 75 F, analyses of variance showed significant differences for every cherry characteristic measured except texture judged subjectively. All F values for apple storage variables were significant. Blue Lake green beans canned using distilled water or with 250 mg/ 1 CaNa2EDTA had higher color and greenness values, less turbidity, generally better flavor and aroma, but lower shear, shape and firmness scores than tap or hard water or commercially processed green beans. Addition of 250 mg/1 ascorbic acid to hard water used to process green beans retained greenness, clarity of brine, flavor and aroma while reducing slough and splitting of pods, when stored 4 months at 75 F

Patients' perspectives on how idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis affects the quality of their lives

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a debilitating lung disease with a survival of only three to five years from the time of diagnosis. Due to a paucity of studies, large gaps remain in our understanding of how IPF affects the quality of patients' lives. In only one other study did investigators ask patients directly for their perspectives on this topic. Further, currently there is no disease-specific instrument to measure health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with IPF. A carefully constructed measurement instrument, sensitive to underlying change, is needed for use in clinical trials and longitudinal studies of patients with IPF. Before developing such an instrument, researchers must improve their understanding of the relevant effects of IPF on patients' lives. On a broader scale, to provide the best care for people with IPF, clinicians must appreciate – from patients' perspectives – how this disease affects various aspects of their lives. METHODS: We used focus groups and individual in-depth interviews with 20 IPF patients to collect their perspectives on how IPF affects their lives (with a focus on the quality of their lives). We then analyzed these perspectives and organized them into a conceptual framework for describing HRQL in patients with IPF. Next, we examined how well certain existing measurement instruments – which have been administered to IPF patients in prior studies – covered the domains and topics our patients identified. RESULTS: In our framework, we identified 12 primary domains: symptoms, IPF therapy, sleep, exhaustion, forethought, employment and finances, dependence, family, sexual relations, social participation, mental and spiritual well-being, mortality. Each domain is composed of several topics, which describe how IPF affects patients' lives. When we compared the content of our conceptual framework with the existing instruments, we found the coverage of the existing instruments to be inadequate for several reasons, including they may tap general areas of QOL or HRQL but not some areas that appear to be most directly affected by IPF, and they include items that are relevant to symptoms and effects of other respiratory diseases but not IPF. CONCLUSION: Collecting patients' perspectives and developing an organized inventory of the relevant effects of IPF on patients' lives provides valuable information for improving our understanding of the impact of this disease on patients and their loved ones. We believe our findings will help alert clinicians and researchers to IPF patients' experiences and concerns. Based on the comparison or our conceptual framework with the content of four existing instruments, it would appear that developing an IPF-specific measurement instrument is justified. Our conceptual framework for describing health-related quality of life in patients with IPF lays a solid foundation for constructing such an instrument

Investigando las fortalezas personales para crear vidas y ambientes positivos: una perspectiva internacional

In today’s world, we face a barrage of difficulties in multiple life spheres. While previous times were not without their challenges, these were often restricted to our own personal, geographically localized worlds. Today, news and social media expose us to never-ending reports of traumatic events and interpersonal violence, making us question human nature and our resiliency. Increasing technological advancements have brought forth new challenges, not only in our relationships with technology, but in how we live our daily lives. Financial uncertainty at both the individual and global level raises doubts about our abilities to afford basic necessities. Climate change is wreaking havoc on the environments we call home. Changing interpersonal dynamics present new challenges to personal, social, and group relationships, often resulting in conflict or isolation. Adolescents and young adults are thrust into this confusing world, often lacking the proper resources to understand and cope with these challenges. Adults facing life’s demands also experience extreme stress, with adverse consequences both at the present as well as later life in the form of physical and mental health issues. Furthermore, we have a tendency to direct attention to our individual weaknesses, exacerbating our experience of difficulties. It is, therefore, no wonder that psychology as a discipline, which seeks to understand the human experience, tends to focus on the deficiencies in our lives. However, as stated by Sheldon and King (2001), it is important for psychologists to deviate from this ‘negative bias’, and instead concentrate on positive human qualities and the promotion of what Maslow (1943, 1987) termed growth needs. This focus is the crux of positive psychology.In today’s world, we face a barrage of difficulties in multiple life spheres. While previous times were not without their challenges, these were often restricted to our own personal, geographically localized worlds. Today, news and social media expose us to never-ending reports of traumatic events and interpersonal violence, making us question human nature and our resiliency. Increasing technological advancements have brought forth new challenges, not only in our relationships with technology, but in how we live our daily lives. Financial uncertainty at both the individual and global level raises doubts about our abilities to afford basic necessities. Climate change is wreaking havoc on the environments we call home. Changing interpersonal dynamics present new challenges to personal, social, and group relationships, often resulting in conflict or isolation. Adolescents and young adults are thrust into this confusing world, often lacking the proper resources to understand and cope with these challenges. Adults facing life’s demands also experience extreme stress, with adverse consequences both at the present as well as later life in the form of physical and mental health issues. Furthermore, we have a tendency to direct attention to our individual weaknesses, exacerbating our experience of difficulties. It is, therefore, no wonder that psychology as a discipline, which seeks to understand the human experience, tends to focus on the deficiencies in our lives. However, as stated by Sheldon and King (2001), it is important for psychologists to deviate from this ‘negative bias’, and instead concentrate on positive human qualities and the promotion of what Maslow (1943, 1987) termed growth needs. This focus is the crux of positive psychology